Men's Lacrosse Overtakes Nichols; Runs Win Streak to Five

DUDLEY, Mass. – Trailing 4-2 with 5:51 left in the first half, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team went on an 8-0 run over the next 22:03 and never looked back as the Leopards defeated the Bison, 17-5, in the Conference of New England opener for each team.

Winners of five straight, Wentworth improves to 8-2 overall (1-0 CNE), while Nichols falls to 2-8 (0-1). The Black & Gold's 8-2 record through its first eight games matches the program's best start, established a season ago.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A defensively played first quarter saw just one goal scored as Wentworth's Gabe Cobham found the back of the net at the 9:23 mark. Despite only scoring once, the Leopards had an 11-7 shot advantage, with five of the 11 shots going on net.
• Three goals in a span of 1:52 saw the game tied at 2-all as Nichols' John Caserta scored a pair of goals (13:56, 12:04) sandwiched around a Jared Hiller marker (12:46) Conor Doherty gave the hosts a 3-2 lead before Castera converted a man-up opportunity for his third goal in 8:05, giving his team a 4-2 lead with 5:51 left in the half.
• Just 11 seconds later, Erik Vogt scored from Kobi Buffa, which started Wentworth's run. Buffa found the back of the net twice late in the first half (1:52, 0:04), pushing the Leopards ahead, 5-4 at the break.
• The third quarter was all Wentworth as the Black & Gold scored seven times; four of which came off the stick of Brendan Kroll (14:05, 12:36, 10:27, 6:56 (man-up)). Vogt had a pair of goals during the quarter, while Jake Rocchio's man-up goal completed the scoring. Drew Bouley had three assists in the quarter.
• Tyler Olivo ended the Bison's scoreless streak when he made it 12-5 a minute and 12 seconds into the fourth quarter. Kroll added two more in the fourth quarter, with Bouley, Vogt, and Jared Hiller also scored for Wentworth.
• Kroll paced the Leopard offense with six goals and an assist for a seven-point night. Vogt (4-2), Buffa (2-4), and Bouley (1-4) also recorded five or more points. Dryden Fisher scooped up eight ground balls and Cameron Santolucito caused three turnovers. At the X, Connor Charron was 17-for-25, while Tom Gardner made eight saves. Wentworth had a 60-25 shot advantage and a 35-29 edge in ground balls. The Leopard man-up unit was a perfect 5-for-5 on the night.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight was the 29th meeting between the two teams. Winners of the last three series meetings, the Black & Gold lead the all-time series, 22-7.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts the University of New England on April 1.

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